Summary
- The CFTC and Gemini have filed a joint motion to reverse a January 2025 consent order.
- The agency concluded that the original 2022 complaint against Gemini was unwarranted and would not have proceeded under present enforcement criteria.
- Gemini had previously settled the allegations by paying a $5 million civil penalty in January 2025.
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the cryptocurrency exchange Gemini have together submitted a motion for relief from judgment on Thursday, aiming to annul a consent order from January 2025 that the CFTC now claims “should not have been filed.”
This surprising change of stance originates from a lawsuit initiated in June 2022, in which the CFTC accused Gemini of providing false or misleading information regarding the risks of manipulation in Bitcoin futures contracts. The exchange, established by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, resolved these charges in January 2025 by agreeing to a $5 million civil penalty and a permanent injunction.
.@CFTC Collaborates with Gemini Trust Company LLC in Motion for Relief from Judgment: https://t.co/NPQoQhxzly
— CFTC (@CFTC) May 27, 2026
In the motion filed on Thursday, the CFTC admitted that the initial complaint relied heavily on information from a whistleblower whose credibility was questioned, labeling the exchange a “fraud victim.” The regulator raised “serious questions” regarding the robustness of the evidence against Gemini, suggesting that personnel had “inappropriately influenced the CFTC’s regulatory authority to gain leverage in settlement negotiations.”
This reversal follows leadership changes within the CFTC. Michael Selig was appointed as CFTC Chair in December 2025, succeeding Brian Quintenz, whose nomination was withdrawn by the White House in September.
Quintenz, a former CFTC commissioner and the original nominee for the Chair position during Trump’s administration, suggested that the Winklevoss twins had opposed his nomination due to his reluctance to take a public stance on enforcement actions against their exchange.
Gemini had strongly opposed the CFTC's enforcement tactics, even filing a complaint with the CFTC Inspector General in June 2025, claiming it was subjected to an abusive investigation and “lawfare.”
Throughout the proceedings, the exchange asserted that it was being unfairly targeted despite having reported the manipulation to the authorities.
This regulatory shift coincides with Gemini's strategic move towards the burgeoning prediction market sector, following significant layoffs and its withdrawal from UK, European, and Australian markets.
The company’s subsidiary, Gemini Titan, received approval as a Designated Contract Market and launched its prediction marketplace in December 2025. In May 2026, Gemini Olympus obtained a DCO license from the CFTC, allowing it to serve as a clearinghouse for regulated derivatives trading, including prediction markets.
During the layoffs, Gemini founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss expressed their belief that “prediction markets will be as significant or even larger than today’s capital markets,” a sector that the CFTC has aggressively sought to regulate, asserting its authority over state gaming regulators.